Subsequent
by Domestic Servant
Summary: Kakashi always received the worst end of the stick. He was used to it by now. But he couldn't help but feel that the team 7 genin were a blessing in disguise. Rated T for a few select words.


**Hey there...:) This one's about Kakashi. I hope you enjoy!**

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Kakashi had always been perceptive. After all, that's what made a good ninja, right? One has to pay attention to every little detail; to observe and retain pieces of information that would be deemed useless to the average civilian. It was a habit that he learned to pick up as a small child, before his father's untimely death. The quirk stayed a part of him since and sometimes, being able to pick up little insignificant (but significant at the same time) details proved to be a heavy burden.

It was something he'd learned to take with his indifferent grace as the years passed. Though, even with Kakashi's compulsive analytical mindset, Karma must've really hated him for landing him a team such as _this._ Even if he was as carefree on the inside as he was on the outside, the chaotic aura that followed the three young genin around would have been impossible to overlook. Team 7, was to be their squad number, if they even passed, which Kakashi slightly doubted. Though he couldn't help but feel something different in the air (it was that aura, again) when the group was all together; it felt..._familiar_. He sighed inwardly as two recognizable boys started on with a little verbal fight. They were exact opposites. Blond hair and black. Tan skin and pale. Loud personality and quiet. Stupid and smart. Haha, that was a good one, he thought to himself. But Kakashi knew the blond one wasn't an idiot at all. Maybe he was a tad (a lot, more like) naive, but he _had _survived this long. In fact, knowing his background and such, he wouldn't be surprised if this one would have grown up to be a genius, had it been under different circumstances. He glanced towards the black haired child, taking in his introverted, yet proud stance. He vaguely wondered what kind of children the two would have grown up to be, had the past worked out a little differently.

"Naruto! Stop saying those things to Sasuke!" The high-picthed voice of the only female caught Kakashi's attention. He had forgotten about the girl in his thoughts concerning the two orphaned boys. His uncovered eye dimmed. And to think that he had been expecting a more mature one to be placed on the team. But then again, the girl, Sakura, looked like she had potential. Her green eyes had a certain gentle gleam to them and her reprimand towards Naruto about his choice of words seemed almost maternal to Kakashi. Yes, she definitely has the potential...

"Sasuke-kun, Naruto didn't hurt your feelings, did he?" And so, the light of maturity that Kakashi hoped was in Sakura had vanished. He felt a pang of pity for the Uchiha. He had it bad enough already, what with his family history. Now he had come to the glorious age where fangirls were introduced. He sighed outwardly and shook his head slowly from the tree branch that he was perched in. He wasn't going to confront them yet. He wanted to wait just a little bit longer and keep watching.

Kakashi's attention diverted towards the blond, also known as Naruto, who was grumbling, his arms crossed over his chest. He craned his neck and narrowed his eyes in order to read the boy's lips and caught a few phrases about _Sasuke_ and _fangirls _and _what's so great about being a genius_. The man nearly chuckled. More and more the team took on a different light. A light of familiarity. One he wasn't sure he was ready to face. When he looked at Naruto, he imagined him wearing orange goggles. When he glanced at Sakura, he saw her with brown hair, rather than pink. And Sasuke...

He saw his former Chuunin self in Sasuke. The one who had lived in a world of chosen isolation and genius. He had a feeling, though. A bad, bad feeling.

He glanced down at his sandled feet. Kakashi idly wondered whether he wanted to even test this team or not, now. Whether he wanted to just go down and fail them automatically or give them a chance. A large chunk of his mind wanted to just crush their little hearts and send them back to the academy, deeming them unfit as genin. But that was selfish. He knew it. He knew in his mind that, if Team 7 were _anything_, anything at all like his former squad, that they would make it.

Kakashi fingered the bells in his pocket. He had always been a selfish man. That was his nature. He was a theif and a liar and a selfish, selfish person. He wanted everything and nothing at the same time. And now he was about to turn his back on his teacher, the only person he had cared about who he _hadn't _betrayed, yet. By some twist of fate, his teacher's _son_ was placed on his potential genin squad, and he was thinking about to _leaving. _

_Who fucking did that? _

But he had already decided what he was going to do. He took out the two interlocked bells from his pocket and bunched them up in his fist. He _had_ to give them this test. He wanted to see for himself, just how similar this team was to the one he so desired to be with again. Again, he was being selfish. He was going down partially for his own gain. To ease the pangs of guilt and fury and longing and sadness...

And _regret. _And God knows he felt these shitty feelings every hour of the day.

Kakashi was not going to screw this up though. He would _not _let anything happen to them. Kakashi was going to keep to his word, and do everything in his power to keep them _together_. Although he had only met them for a mere 10 minutes the day before, he saw in them great potential. He was after all, known for his ability to read people like no other. Kakashi resolved to help these students in their journey to become better ninja. He couldn't see the future, but he knew it was going to be hard and long and full of utter _shit._

So he stood up and jumped down from the tree branch he was previously perched on. Yes, the atmosphere surrounding the three genin was a unique one. They were destined for a lot, he could tell. Kakashi peered into the three pairs of eyes, one by one. His mouth broke into a grin underneath his mask, and he held up the bells. They were going to be a fun group, he thought sarcastically as Naruto put on a face of confusion and Sasuke glared daggers. Or should he say, _kunai. _He chuckled again and Sakura smiled meekly, as she had been doing since Kakashi arrived.

He couldn't see the future, he thought to himself while explaining the rules to his bell test. But he was going to try. He was going to try to make their lives just that much better. They were his kids, he thought._ His _kids.

His eyes narrowed just a fraction as he stated out loud what he feared most. "_...They're in my hands now..." _

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**Oooh, Kakashi get's emotional! You know, this was going to be about his observations on Sasuke and Naruto, buuuut...eh :) It turned out all right, I think.**

**Tell me what you think!**

**Salud!**


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